God's path

For the past 48 hours or so, I have been spending my time at Lenoir Rhyne University in Hickory with 400+ brothers and sisters in Christ.  While this may seem like something I do on a normal day during the school year, this is different.  Many friends, family, and other people have been trying to grasp what I have been talking about doing.. so I am going to try and help ya out.

I am part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA).. and their are 65 synods.

•  (some are a whole state,  some are many states added together, and some states are multiple synods..it just depends on size and number of churches.. 

I am part of Region 9

• The 65 synods are divided into 9 regions... each containing 7-12 synods
• NC Synod is one of six synods in Region 9

I am part of North Carolina synod

• There are 213 congregations
• About 68,512 baptized members
• 465 rostered leaders 

Each synod has a group of lay members and clergy (synod council) that come together to work in the name of the LORD to serve as an interim legislative authority between meetings of the annual synod assembly.  I was elected onto Synod Council when I was a Junior in high school as the youth representative, and then again last year was re-elected onto Synod Council as a female lay member and have two more years serving.

The North Carolina Synod comes together each year in June to have our Synod Assembly meeting.  Each congregation in the Synod may send two voting members to the assembly.  In addition they are allowed to send one youth or young adult AND if they are a church with minority they are allowed to send one person of minority as well.

A lot of planning and time goes into making this a wonderful event.  As part of being on the synod council, I was blessed to be able to serve on the Assembly planning committee--and was asked to serve as one of the chaplains. The chaplain is responsible for prayers throughout the assembly and this year leading vespers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now that I have been able to explain some of the background, I would like to share my good, bad, excited, and nervous emotions that came with this assembly.

Upon arriving to the assembly I knew that I was serving as chaplain, however I was nervous because I wasn't really sure about what was going to take place.  I am someone that likes to know everything and how it is going to flow--and well that just wasn't the case. Everything has worked out and gone very smoothly.  This is now my third assembly that I am taking part in, and well I have been blessed to have not only my own church family members here, but my father as well.  It has been very special to be able to know my dad is out there.  He is a huge role model for me in all that he does within the church and outside in the community.  He is open to doing whatever assigned to and always eager to learn new ways of doing old things or new ways of doing things unknown to him. Today, I really saw him and his actions in me.  As part of the Synod Assembly, the participants went out into the community this morning to serve.  I was assigned to quilting--and even though my mom is a sewing queen--I was a tad unsure how this was going to go.  But as soon as I entered the building I was ready to learn it all and learn anything they wanted to teach me.  I quickly caught on, and they told me they were never letting me leave :P.  While working there, I realized that you do not have to know how to do something in order to do it.. you can learn on the spot if needed.

My co-chaplain and I spent this weekend away from our home and family to serve the LORD our God. He is surely amazing.  We are not pastors, we are not youth ministers, we are just two girls living in this world as daughters of the risen LORD.  This weekend he equipped us with the knowledge that we needed and he never let us be lost, he was there.  Why at moments we wondered what we were doing and I found myself looking to him asking for guidance.  Every time that I was preparing to go on stage to pray to the assembly, I took a moment to talk to God.

Now that my duties are over and I am taking time to reflect, I am realizing even more that I am so blessed to have so many special people in my life.  While I know there are many things I could share and stories I could tell, and while I know many that may read this wouldn't understand portions of it, so instead I am going to share about two special ladies in my life.  These two ladies do not include my mother or any other blood family, they are not part of my St. Stephens church family.  They have been in my life during my high school and college years.  These two ladies have taught me more than both I and they even probably realize.  These two ladies are always there for me it seems even when I am not realizing it or expecting it.  While these two ladies have many of the same impacts in my life, they also have many differences.

The first one is, Liz Fisher, she is truly amazing.  She always has the high amounts of energy when hanging with the young people.  She understands events of life and will listen until I am sure other people's ears would fall off.  She answers questions, even if they are dumb ones.  She has been there for me of times when I am totally unsure and feeling lost.  I do not have stories of moments with her as I do with the next lady, but I do know that Liz makes an impact in so many people's lives.  I have seen her impact my little brothers, Brandon, life as well.. and that is just as special.

The second lady is Tammy Jones-West and I know that I do not have enough time or even space to express my appreciation for the teaching, equipping and much more that Tammy has already done for me and for what is to come. But one of the most obvious things to me that Tammy has taught me, is something that is likely not clear to her.  Like I said earlier, I like to know about what is going on and how things are going to flow. There has been a few times, including this weekend, that I just didn't know everything.  And everything worked out and I didn't need to know.  While I am sure that Tammy knew the details, she did not share and actually it was for the best!  She was indirectly teaching me that everything will be okay when I am doing the wonderful works for our LORD God.

It turned out that this blog was longer than I expected it to be, it was more in depth than I anticipated, but it shares much about my weekend.  For you readers, if you have questions, concerns or comments please feel free to let me know.  I leave with this:  What are we being called for.  I know that I do not know where I am going, however I like to think I can plan it out--BUT only one person knows the whole plan and that man is looking down on us slowly directing us in that way.  This weekend many have asked me if I am interested in the ministry, and my response is no that's not where I feel I am being called.  However, like Liz reminded me today, God is in control--he is the one that knows the plan!

Oh gracious LORD!  You were with me when I was born to you and baptized in your name.  You have led me to be a member on the synod council, to serve my brothers and sisters in Christ.  While I know that I plan out my future in the way that I think it should or is going, you are totally in control and you are the one person that I need to lean on.  I ask that you continue to remind me all of this and that I am pulled toward the path you want me to go.  Sometimes I will stray away, and it is okay if you lead me down a path that gets me know where--I understand that it is all for the training of my calling.  I am now in the boat of not really knowing what I am called for, but I do know that I want to relay on you.  LORD God, you are truly amazing, I love you LORD Jesus!  Amen

forever in our hearts

Family..

Life..

Love..

Pictures..

..are those people that are there for you.  They do not have to be related to you by blood, or live in your home, or see you each day.  They are the ones that are there for you when you have no one else to turn to.  They are the ones that will try their absolute hardest to build you up, when you are falling down.

..a precious gift that we have been given.  We often do not remember and realize the value of this gift and just pass it along each day.

..a gift to each one of us from our heavenly Father.  He has taught us to do this just as he loves all of us.  Sometimes we may not feel that love that he is sharing with us, but it is always there even in some of the roughest, toughest moments.

..are a way to capture moments and memories. They help remind you of people and events, and they are precious to many.  They have a way of expressing more words and emotions that one can express. They are precious in their own way, and I personally do not think anyone can have to many pictures.

So it looks like I clearly understand what Family is.  This of course is only a sample of my family.  I have a wonderful family of people that are related to me down the line AND also people that are not related to me by blood.  My family is precious to me and I love each and everyone of them.  My mom's side is a big family (the top two pics).. and my dad's side is much smaller (the bottom two pics).  But no matter what they are all special to me and I have a unique connection with each of them.

Life is something we all live in our own unique ways.  For some it is to be the richest and have everything in the world.  For some it is living in a shack and barely being able to pay for warmth and water, let alone food and clothes.  For some it is owning your own business and maintaining a well kept yard.  But no matter your case, we all seek daily what we want to do with our lives.  We live each day like we have tomorrow instead of living today like we have no tomorrow.  Life is precious and it was given to us by Jesus Christ, he died for us.. so that we may live.

Love is something that we all do.  We each have someone that we love.  There are different types of love.  Love for a spouse and love for a child.  Love for a grandparent and love for a cousin.  Love for a friend and love for our animals.  Love for our clothes and love for our materials.  Love comes in many ways and is precious to us.  We were taught to love, by the one who loves us more than anything.

Do you like pictures, cause I know I do.  I have so many pictures and I love capturing them and looking at them.  Every picture has a story... well at least one story for each person in the picture.  Everyone has their own memory about when the picture was taken.

I started writing this entry to my blog a little over a month ago.  Something happened in my family that made a huge impact on my life.  Someone that I loved very much and that was in many of my memories and pictures was taken away.  Death you can never expect.

 There is a wonderful man that was taken from our lives.  He was a loving husband, father, grandfather, father-in-law, uncle, brother-in-law, son-in-law, and friend.  He was silly, caring, smart, wise, creative, precise, and so much more. He walked into our lives like he was there all along.  He made family gatherings that much more fun.  He knew it was important when we were together that all the time was used for connection and not making food--ordering in was the way to go.  He liked to hide away to the side doing puzzles with his own special technique.  He loved hanging out with the cousins as much as with the adults.  He loved his movies and knew his movies.  He loved to fish..and boy was he good at it.  He wanted to keep us all together and be a joyous family.  He suffered through a cold CT weather, so that his wife could be with her sister and family..and to get to make Christmas cookies.  Each cousin has a special memory about him.. he had some special with each of us.. that only we can understand the whole memory.  He loved to play--esp in the ocean.  He was precise with his plants and flowers.  He played tug of war with his dogs. There are so many more memories with him.. because theses are only from my point of view.

On April 1st, we lost a special man.  I have not wrote about this yet, only because I found it very hard to review and edit.  Writing was soothing, but the reading over was the more challenging.  It is very hard to explain the heart ache that I have in my heart.  And while I know that everyone in my family also has this ache, they all are slightly different.  Memories are precious.. and now this picture is a picture that I treasure more than anything.

That is all of us together.

One thing that he loved to do with anyone that came to visit was to watch a movie.  So on the weekend of his funeral, four of the cousins figured that watching a movie together was the thing we should do.  We figured it was the most appropriate thing to do.  Now the issue was, that Henry had a very high tech process.. and well he always did so that we wouldn't mess anything up.  The four cousins realized this and it was quite an adventure figuring it out.. but we did.  Memories are forever.  Pictures help you remember.

I am blessed to have the family I have.  The ones that are there for me, and I am there for them.  We still have many things to get through, but I am confident that I can do it.. because I have such a wonderful family. 

This entry only gives a glimpse about Henry. 

It would have to be miles long to explain him to his full extent.

We all have our own memories, and I love hearing everyone's.

Henry you will forever remain in our hearts. 

Home roots

Colleges are out and college students are heading home.  It seems that about half of the statuses I see on facebook regard going home, which is of course what most college students do.  While I know I come from a small town that really has nothing to do, I often am saddened by the trashing that it receives.   I understand that there is nothing here, but it is not the worst ever.

Maybe all this is only because I have never lived any where else, but it sure isn't that I have never traveled anywhere.  I have done a good bit of traveling in the United States, up and down the eastern coast.  I have visited small towns and big cities, places that are full of stores and towns that are quaint and simple.  I am not a city girl, that is for sure.  The busyness of a city is just simply crazy and a tad overwhelming, but then again I don't think I would want to live out in the middle of the country.  I like where my home is.  In the county, outside of a small town, but not in the country.  I live in a neighborhood that has surrounding houses with families and dogs.  It makes it feel home like all the time.

So what do we not have in this small town.

• Lots of huge intersections
• A mall with Belk, Dillards, American Eagle
• Party City,  Target, Ollies
• Best Buy to fix electronics
• Fancy stores to buy gifts
• Every restaurant one could dream of
• Clubs
• Places to watch movies

Instead we have....

• Small important intersections that are named (Smith Crossroads, Cheeks)
• Rue 21, Maurcies, Belk
• Big Lots, Magic Mart, and Walmart that contain all we would ever need at a low price
• JP Computers can help you much more than Best Buy can
• She Sha's, Venti Casa, Abagails, and Treasures
• We got Sweet T's, Nara's and much more
• There may not be clubs, but we have local music concerts
• We have a movie theater that is nice
• Local radio station?  You betcha
• Travel 30 mins to the west and you are in Morganton, 30 mins East to Wilkesboro, 30 South to Hickory or 30 mins North to Boone.  (easy short access)
• Lake Hickory, Lake James all near by

Really, what is better than all of that. I enjoy being a Lenoir citizen.  Look at everything that we do have instead of looking at we do not have.  Lenoir has grown so much, it really is amazing and I am so proud of it.  

I am thankful to live where I live.  And one day, I may need to move away and that will happen as it needs to, but for now Lenoir is my home and for always Lenoir will be my hometown.  I look forward to see what it continues to grows to become. 

Volunteering is just in my blood..

What a beautiful Saturday it was... 7o-ish degree weather, with the sun shining.

On a beautiful, Saturday like this... there are many things to do.  I know I can come up with just a few.. maybe working in the yard, sitting by the pool with a book, taking a walk, playing with the dogs..or maybe it was a day for working inside, cleaning and getting ready for the week.  But while I need to do all of the above, my afternoon was spent differently.

Did you know what Saturday, May 12th was?  Have you ever heard of the National Stamp Out Food Drive?  I learned about it just a few years ago.  It is driven by the National Post Office service.  On one Saturday of the year, individuals can do the simple act of placing food out by their mail boxes.. (sounds simple right?  but how does that help anything).  Then the mail men and mail women drop off your mail and pick up all those cans of food.  The drive around their route with can food rolling this way and that, and then bring it back to their post office.  All the food is unloaded at the post office, sorted through checking the dates, divided by product type into boxes.  These boxes are then weighed and divided between different food pantries in the community (big process, you say.. you betcha!)

Today I saw cans of potatoes, pasta, green beans, corn, spinach, boxes of crackers, juice containers and so many other things.  I weighed more boxes then I think I can count and figured out which agency got the box.  Lots of food, lots of items, lots of boxes, and lots of time.  This year it seemed we had lots more food then we have had in the past.  In Lenoir, the two agencies that the food was divided between was Lenoir Soup Kitchen and Lenoir Yokefellow.  A collection of wonderful volunteers along with myself decided to spend our afternoon helping out at the Lenoir PO Food Drive.  What better way to spend a Saturday afternoon, it was spent helping others.  One may not understand that the impact that happened today helps so many individuals in the community.  It was not direct action to a person or family, but was an incredible amount of indirect action that is very special.

So why did I spend my Saturday afternoon doing this, you ask?  Volunteering is just what I love to do.  I find excitement in doing it.  Sometimes I get tired and sore, but knowing that I am helping someone out indirectly or directly is just awesome! I am connected with Yokefellow, but that is not the reason that I was there.

To those that summer time means not having school everyday--spend your time wisely.  This does not mean that you NEED or MUST volunteer somewhere, but it does mean that you need to learn something.  Maybe it is just learning how to not sit around bored everyday, or maybe it is learning how to actually do an action.  Find what it is you want to learn.  Find out what or where your niche is, maybe you want to get connected into a field of study.. well go learn that this summer. I am using this summer to learn as much as I can--most of what will benefit me in my major choice.  But some days, or evenings I am using my time to learn random things..

We are always learning things.. doesn't that sound crazy.. but don't ya think it is true as well :)

Dear God, You are holy and mighty.  You are there, watching our every move.  You teach us daily to talk to  you and to walk in your shoes.  God, I ask that you continue to walk with us and help us to remember that while sometimes it is not easy , it is what we need to do.  I ask that you continue to help me remember to not only pray for friends, family, and peers, but also those that i do not yet know and those that are my enemies.  I pray to you to keep all of those safe that are out on the road and those serving our beloved country.  I love you Lord Jesus.  Amen.

oh hello summer, where'd you come from

Summer time is here..

Today, I started an internship and I am so excited about it.  I will be spending my summer at Yokefellow, learning the ropes course.  If you are unfamiliar with what Yokefellow is similar to what you might know as Cooperative Christian Ministries. I feel that this new major, Human and Community Service, is the major that is fit for me.

Six semesters into college, and now I figure out what I want to do.  It has taken me this long.... started with an elementary education major, then a communication major, back to an elementary ed major and now human and community service.  Why, yes they are all similar but just a bit different.  I have found myself sitting and pondering about why it has taken me until the second half of my Junior year to figure out what I want to do...but then again if we all knew exactly where we were really going from day one.. we would be bored.

I always thought that I would be a elementary school teacher, but there is a different plan for me.  And I will tell you this, after today it confirmed to me even more that in a school is not where I am supposed to be.  I feel in my home today, working here and there and everywhere.  Doing things that I had no clue at first, and now I am  learning it all. This is what I am supposed to be doing, this is the path I am to be walking.  While I know that I have much more to learn and that I may come across moments of frustration, I will be learning and growing.

God has a plan for each of us.  Most of us have no clue where that path is going or what that plan is.  Most of us also try constantly to figure it out and make a schedule to how we are going to do it.  But what we don't realize is that God is the only one that knows the plan and path and knows how we are going to get there and in what time range.  HE is the one that controls it, no matter how hard we try to do it ourselves. By know means am I saying this is easy... I know I struggle at letting God lead and allowing myself to follow him.  I want to be in full control about what is going on at all times and unfortuntly I can't do that.

This summer is going to be full of learning experiences, growing moments, frustrating times, moments of wanting to give in, and so much more. BUT it will be giving me an experience that I would never have if I don't just go with the flow.

Dear God, I am so thankful for everything that you have given me.  You know that I have trouble letting you lead.  Please help me remember that you are the one that is truly in control and that I need to follow where you lead.  Lord, you are amazing. Amen.

the little things...

Just thought I would share a few of the little things that have happened in the past couple of days, that brightens up my life :) 

Something that I have always said, and now it is posted in writing :)

Two 500 piece puzzles in two days, can only happen when you spend time with someone you love spending time with :)  I enjoy every moment with my boyfriend..and puzzling is a shared hobby :) yay.  I am sure we will eventually do all the puzzles in the basement, though the 1000 piece puzzles are more than one nights of work... but it will happen :)

As I walked down to my car today, I saw this thing stuck under my windshield wipers, and my first thought was, "ugh what did someone put on my car", but as a got closer, I was happy.  This wonderful note was left to me from the best little brother ever, and my car is now colorful and decorated with happiness :)  Best little brother ever!  

I don't get mail much, and I don't check my mail much.  But tonight I checked it, and look what I found.  Thanks, mom, dad, skittles and emma! 

Capturing the little happiness moments is so special! No pose, just me dancing away from the camera

No matter how many tries it takes, we will enjoy all the silliness along the way.  I am thinking we never got a real picture, but it was the thought that counts!

These are just a few of the little things in life, that mean the world to me.  They are the things that turn a bad day upside down and turn it into a good one.  Today was definitely boosted and turned good:)  Everyday little things do not happen, and I do not want them to.  But I do hang on to the little things from day to day and am thankful for them.

Feeling like a puzzle

These days have seemed to not be as current anymore, but today is one of them.  I understand that many people are hurting around the world and may live everyday in pain, and I also understand that my pain does not add up to what some people deal with.  I really don't like to talk about not feeling well because I don't want for people to give me sympathy.  But since four people have now told me I look like I have been hit by a bus, I guess it would be a good idea to just write down how I feel.  


Since November 24th, I have been on a trial run gluten free diet and I feel that it has really helped me.  In the past 2 months I have only had like to major belly issues, but today seems to be added to that list.  The scary thing is gluten can be slipped in anywhere and no one notices unless they are allergic or intolerant to it like I am. 


My body just seems to be mad at me.. or frustrated with something that I did AND clearly I don't know what I did. Running on about three hours of sleep last night, I am sure glad that it is Friday.  Eventually maybe either I will get a nap or just go to bed early. 


Dear Lord, I ask that you watch over all those that deal with pain more often than I do.  I know it is terribly uncomfortable and I cannot imagine it any worse than I already have.  Lord, I ask that you help me through the day and helped me look as if I wasn't hit by a bus. 
In Jesus holy name, Amen.